The recession has enabled the California Dept. of Transportation to save approximately $2.4 billion in construction costs for major projects since 2006 due to strong competition. Some bids are coming in at 40% below engineers’ estimates, says Kris Kuhl, supervising transportation engineer and official chief for contract awards and services at Caltrans.
Overall, Kuhl says that so far this fiscal year, project bids are averaging 33.8% under estimates.